Overcoming obstacles to liberalization of the telecom sector in Estonia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Hungary: an overwiew of key policy concerns and potential initiatives to facilitate the transition process, Volumes 23-440

Annotation World Bank Technical Paper No. 440 This study emerges from discussions with representatives of the World Bank and high-level representatives of government and the telecommunications services industry in Hungary, Estonia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Hungary. It considers the problems inherent with the liberalization of the telecom sector. This publication is a Technical Paper sponsored by the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network of the World Bank's Europe and Central Asia Division. It is part of a comprehensive series regarding the many important factors that influence European Union (EU) accession in the Central and East European countries (CEEC). The topics in the series cover both the social and economic aspects of accession across a broad range of sectors. The series also provides background information for specific acceding countries. These publications will be of interest to EU member and candidate countries, their ministries, and any one studying the accession issue During the months of May and July 1998, representatives of the World Bank engaged in a round of informal meetings with high-level representatives of government and the telecommunications services industry in Hungary, Estonia, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia to assess, in cooperation with the European Commission, the status of the liberalization of the telecommunications sector. These countries are expected to be among the first group of countries in Central Europe to accede to the European Union (EU). It can be plausibly argued that the prospect of EU accession and the concomitant requirements for regulatory harmonization are likely to accelerate the process of structural and regulatory reform in the Central and East European Countries. However, the precise characteristics of such reform depend on the specific circumstances of individual countries-in particular, their political and institutional endowments, fiscal condition, legal and regulatory background, and the economic characteristics of their industries. Set forth in this report is an overview of some of the common issues and concerns that emerged from the discussions as well as accounts of key developments and issues in each of the five countries visited. The report also examines ways in which the transition process might be facilitated, or even accelerated.